Liverpool man ruffles feathers fighting chicken bylaw
'I can't see what the issue is with me having a couple of chickens,' says Edward Whynot
A man in Liverpool has been ruffling some feathers as he fights to keep his backyard chickens on Nova Scotia's South Shore.
Edward Whynot has been protesting for the last two days in downtown Liverpool, walking in front of the post office and the local Tim Hortons with a sign that says, "Equal Rights to Keep Chickens."
Whynot has been told by the Region of Queens Municipality that he needs to rezone his property or get rid of his seven chickens.
On Tuesday, the municipality voted that people who want chickens can have them — but they have to put down a $700 deposit to request their property be rezoned. Whynot said he's not going to "throw away" $700 on a bureaucratic move that doesn't guarantee he can keep his chickens.
"They have everything in this town, from birds to parrots, they have goats, they have horses, they have chickens right here in the heart of town — and yet they tell me I have to rezone," Whynot told CBC's Maritime Noon on Wednesday.
"They come up with all kinds of excuses why I can't have chickens, but I look all around this neighbourhood and I see rabbits — rabbits are farm animals but yet they classify them as pets. I classify my chickens as pets."
He said when he pushed the issue, the municipality couldn't tell him the difference between a pet and a farm animal.
Whynot said he's been told chickens attract rats but he said there have also been rat problems in the town, due to bird feeders and garbage.
"I keep my chicken cage cleaned out everyday," he said. "I can't see what the issue is with me having a couple of chickens."